Pure launches Evoke Flow Wi-Fi/DAB/FM radio & 'The Lounge' internet radio portal
DAB and EcoPlus radio manufacturer Pure has jumped into the world of internet streaming toady with the launch of their online portal and accompanying Wi-Fi device.
The Evoke Flow is Pure’s first Wi-Fi piece of kit and it’s designed to synch up with their new internet site while the radio sits free of your computer wherever round the house you care to put it.
Pure has named the portal The Lounge and given their domain name choice it seems pretty obvious they’re quite serious about it all – www.thelounge.com will not have come cheap.
The portal hosts the 10,000 odd internet radio stations out there as well as all the podcasts and listen agains you’d expect, plus they have a Pure Sounds section which provides ambient, well, noises for you to relax to including heartbeats and whale song and possibly even the sound of one hand clapping for all we know until The Lounge officially launches.
I think the design of the site is pretty bloody good as it goes. It’s a nice, original colour scheme and it looks modern, fashionable and essentially more appealing than the likes of Radiopaq, who themselves just made the transition the other way from radio portal into hardware.
Which brings us nicely back to the Evoke Flow itself…
It comes in Piano Black – that’s black if you don’t happen to work in marketing – and, although they serve the same purpose, it is a very different proposition to the Rp5. The bad news is that it’s only got one speaker, which is quite a let down compared to the Rp5’s 5-way system based on a copy of a Bose design.
There is wood involved in the Evoke Flow but no maple in sight. Basically, what I’m saying is that this is not a piece of kit for the audiophile but then, it is radio we’re talking about here, so who cares?
It is more compact than the Radiopaq device and the classic wireless look is more appealing but more interesting are the guts of the thing. The Evoke Flow is Linux-based meaning, of course, that it’s open to the power of the people and any later developments which Pure is actively encouraging the public to make.
Currently, the display is simply an OLED but it’s clear from those in the company that next year will see the addition of a screen capable of video content, widgetry and likely some kind of browsing.
I’ve got to say I’m pretty impressed with what I’ve seen today and, if it weren’t for the fact that this is still just radio we’re talking about, I’d be very excited indeed. Pure’s next job is to convince me and the public that we want to listen Argentinian jazz stations and all the podcasts out there. There is a wealth of entertainment sitting in the airwaves and it’s been Pure’s mission to create the device to make it popular. They say MP3s were nothing until the iPod. Will the Evoke Flow do the same trick for internet radio?
To be honest, my guess would be ‘no’ but I still think the Lounge and the Evoke Flow are both good products and if you’re looking for a radio come the end of September, you could do a hell of a lot worse than spend £150 on Pure’s new gizmo.
Pure
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